Projector for use with containers for motion picture film

ABSTRACT

The housing of a projector for use with cassettes for convoluted motion picture film defines a channel for lengthwise movement of shorter or longer trays which store stacks of cassettes. A blocking lever normally extends into the path of lengthwise movement of an inserted tray to arrest the tray in a starting position one step ahead of that position in which the foremost cassette in the tray is located in a projection position. The blocking lever is automatically moved away from the path of the inserted tray when the transporting mechanism which serves to move the tray lengthwise is operated in the starting position of the tray. The housing carries a pawl which engages a toothed portion of the inserted tray to prevent its movement in the rearward direction. The tray carries a pusher which causes the blocking lever to open a switch in the electric circuit of the projector when the transporting mechanism advances the tray beyond the starting position through such a distance that the rearmost cassette in a filled tray is moved beyond the projection position.

United States Patent Winkler et al.

' Filed:

PROJECTOR FOR USE WITH CONTAINERS FOR MOTION PICTURE FILM Inventors:Alfred Winkler, Munich; Johann Zanner, Jr., Unterhaching, both ofGermany AGFA Aktiengesellschaft, Leverkusen, Germany Dec. 17, 1970App1.No.: 99,178

Assignee:

Int. Cl. ..G03b 21/04 Field of Search ..352/123, 6, 8, 72; 242/192References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Bundschuh et al. ..352/123Thevenaz ..352/ 123 Fukuda ..352/123 Schwartz ..352/123 [151 3,692,391[451 Sept. 19,1972

Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Richard L. MosesAttorney-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT The housing of a projector foruse with cassettes for convoluted motion picture film defines a channelfor lengthwise movement of shorter or longer trays which store stacks ofcassettes. A blocking lever normally extends into the path of lengthwisemovement of an inserted tray to arrest the tray in a starting positionone step ahead of that position in which the foremost cassette in thetray is located in a projection position. The blocking lever isautomatically moved away from the path of the inserted tray when thetransporting mechanism which serves to move the tray lengthwise isoperated in the starting position of the tray. The housing carries apawl which engages a toothed portion of the inserted tray to prevent itsmovement in the rearward direction. The tray carries a pusher whichcauses the blocking lever to open a switch in the electric circuit ofthe projector when the transporting mechanism advances the tray beyondthe starting position through such a distance that the rearmost cassettein a filled tray is moved beyond the projection position.

10 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure mcmmsrmmz 3.692.391

INVENTOR ALFRED WINKLER JOHANN ZANNER jun.

BY 4-1411 5' 5&4

PROJECTOR FOR USE WITH CONTAINERS FOR MOTION PICTURE FILM BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION cassettes for rolls of convoluted motion picture film. l

The rolls of film must be moved to a predetermined projection positionin which the film can be transported toward and convoluted on a takeupreel whereby the frames of the film pass through the projection gate sothat the images of such frames are projected onto a screen or the like.Motion picture projectors of the just described type are preferred whena single roll of motion picture film does not suffice to photograph acomplete sequence of related events, scenes or subjects. It is thendesirable to rapidly advance successive rolls of film into projectionposition in orderto reduce the intervals between projections ofsuccessive rolls to a minimum.

Certain types of presently known motion picture projectors can projectimages of frames on two or more rolls of motion picture film which isconvoluted on the cores of reels. Such reels are mounted in a magazinewhich is movable with reference to the housing of the motion pictureprojector. The manipulation of reels for motion picture film presentsmany problems which can be eliminated if the film is stored incontainers or cassettes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide amotion picture projector for use with cassettes or containers for motionpicture film which can support shorter or longer stacks of cassettes,which insures that the foremost cassette in an inserted magazine or traystacked cassettes is invariably placed into a projection position whenthe operator so desires, and which can accept longer or shortermagazines or trays for cassettes containing convoluted motion picturefilm.

Another object of the invention is to provide the projector with novelmeans for initiating and controlling the movements of shorter, partiallyfilled or completely filled trays for cassettes containing convolutedmotion picture film.

A further object of the invention is to provide a projector for motionpicture film wherein the magazine or tray for cassettes canautomatically shut off the motor and/or open the circuit of the lightsource when the projection of images on the film which is stored in therearmost cassette is completed.

The invention is embodied in a projector for use with cassettes orcontainers for motion picture film which comprises a housing or anothersuitable support defining an elongated path which is preferablyhorizontal and preferably horizontal and preferably extends between twoparallel guide rails of the top wall of the projector housing, anelongated magazine or tray which can store a stack of cassettes forconvoluted motion picture film and is insertable into and movable alongthe path in a predetermined direction toward the beyond a startingposition which is one step away from that position wherein the foremostcassette is located in LII the projection position, a transportingmechanism which is mounted in the support and is operable, either byhand or by a motor, to advance the magazine beyond the startingposition, and blocking means preferably comprising a lever which ispivotably mounted in or on the support and a portion of which normallyextends into the path for the magazine so as to automatically arrest themagazine in the starting position. The transporting mechanism comprisesdisplacing means which automatically moves the blocking lever from thepath for the magazine when the transporting mechanism is operated whilethe magazine dwells in the starting position whereby the magazine isfree to advance beyondthe starting position and to place the foremostcassette into projection position.

Thus, if the foremost cassette is properly inserted into the magazine,it automatically reaches the projection position when the transportingmechanism is operated to advance the inserted magazine beyond itsstarting position. The support is designed in such a way that it canaccept and guide magazines of different lengths.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.

The improved motion picture projector itself, however, both as to itsconstruction and its mode of operation, together with additionalfeatures and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal ofthe following detailed description of certain specific embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The single FIGURE is a fragmentaryperspective view of a motion picture projector which embodies theinvention, a shorter tray for cassettes being shown by solid lines and alonger tray being indicated by phantom lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The drawing illustrates aportion of a motion picture projector having a preferably low and flathousing or support 1 which can properly support a substantial number ofcontainers or cassettes 22 for convoluted motion picture film. The topwall 1A of the housing 1 is provided with an elongated opening orchannel flanked by two parallel horizontal guide rails la, lb which canextend into longitudinally extending grooves 2a, 2b provided in thebottom wall 28 of an elongated troughshaped magazine or tray 2 for astack of cassettes 22. The elongated path for the properly inserted tray2 is preferably normal to the optical axis of the lens system (notshown) of the projector. The manner in which the film can be withdrawnfrom or returned into a cassette 22 which is held in a projectionposition forms no part of the present invention.

The mechanism for transporting the tray 2 in stepwise fashion in thedirection indicated by an arrow 16 comprises a horizontal shaft 3 whichcan be rotated automatically or by hand in the direction indicated by anarrow 17 and is normal to the path of movement of the tray. Thetransporting mechanism further comprises a pinion 4 which can be rotatedby the shaft 3 through the intermediary of a friction clutch 5. Thebottom wall 2B of the tray 2 is provided with an elongated rack 2c whoseteeth mesh with the teeth of the pinion 4 as soon as the tray reachesthe illustrated rearmost or starting position.

The means for arresting the tray 2 in the starting position in which therack 20 is already in mesh with the pinion 4 of the transportingmechanism comprises a blocking lever 6 which is pivotable on a pin 7fixedly mounted in the housing 1. The blocking lever 6 has an elongatedarm 6a which is substantially parallel to the top wall 1A when the tray2 is withdrawn from its channel, before the tray 2 reaches itsillustrated starting position, and while the tray dwells in suchstarting position. The arm 6a has an upwardly extending projection orlug 8 which extends into the path of movement of the bottom wall 23 ofthe tray 2 and thus blocks further forward movement of the tray beyondthe illustrated starting position. As shown in the drawing, theprojection 8 bears against the guide rail 1b under the action of ahelical spring 9 which biases the arm 6a in a clockwise direction andreacts against a portion of the housing 1. The arm 6a is furtherprovided with a second upwardly extending projection 10 which extendsthrough and beyond a slot in the top wall 1A and can be depressed byhand to pivot the arm 6a in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inthe drawing, in response to application of finger pressure in thedirection indicated by an arrow 20.

A second arm 6b of the blocking lever 6 extends downwardly from the freeend of the arm 6a and is provided with a bent-over lower end portion orfollower 1 1 which is adjacent to the shaft 3. The arm 6b is preferablyat least slightly elastic so that it can yield in the directionindicated by an arrow 21 to thereby actuate (open) an electric switch 19in the circuit of the light source and/or motor of the motion pictureprojector. The shaft 3 carries a diametrically extending displacing pin12 which can engage the follower 11 in response to rotation of the shaft3 in the clockwise direction (arrow 17) to thereby pivot the blockinglever 6 counterclockwise and to move the projection 8 to a level belowthe path for the bottom wall 23 of the tray 2.

The projector is further provided with an arresting device for normallypreventing rearward transport of the tray 2. This arresting devicecomprises a pawl 13 which is pivotable in the housing 1 about a verticalpin 13a and is biased in a clockwise direction by a helical spring 15which reacts against the housing 1. The pallet 13b of the pawl 13engages with the teeth of a longitudinally extending toothed or serratedportion 2d of the bottom wall 28; this serrated portion 2d is parallelwith and is located below the groove 20. The configuration of the pallet13b and teeth on the serrated portion 2d is such that the pawl 13 canride over the teeth of the portion 2d when the tray 2 is advanced in thedirection indicated by the arrow 16 but that the pawl positivelyprevents any movement of the tray in the opposite direction. However, itis clear that the pawl 13 can be coupled to or made integral with amanually operable handle (not shown) which enables the operator todisengage the pallet 13b from the serrated portion 2d.

The tray 2 is further provided with a transversely extending pusher 2ewhich extends downwardly from the rear end of the bottom wall 28 and canengage the projection 8 to thereby move the arm 6b of the blocking lever6 in the direction indicated by arrow 21. The numeral 2' denotes arelatively long magazine or tray which can be inserted into the channelbetween the guide rails la, lb upon withdrawal of the shorter tray 2.

The operation:

When the user desired to begin with the projection of images of frameson the film which is stored in the foremost cassette 22 of the shortertray 2, the latter is inserted into the channel between the guide railsla, lb in the direction indicated by the arrow 16 whereby the guiderails la, lb respectively enter the grooves 2a, 2b of the bottom wall2B. The operator pushes the tray 2 forwardly until the front end face ofthe bottom wall 28 reaches the projection 8 which is then held in theillustrated raised position. At such time, the teeth of the pinion 4already mesh with the foremost teeth of the rack 20, i.e., the tray 2 isproperly coupled to the transporting mechanism of the projector. Asmentioned above, the pallet 13b of the arresting pawl 13 can ride oversuccessive teeth of the serrated portion 2d as long as the tray 2 iscaused to move in the direction indicated by the arrow 16. It will benoted that the projection 8 of the arm 6a determines the startingposition of the tray 2; in such starting position, the foremost cassette22' in one step away from the projection position.

The operator thereupon rotates or causes the shaft 3 to rotate in thedirection indicated by the arrow 17 whereby one of the projectingportions of the displacing pin 12 engages the follower 11 and pivots thelever 6 in a counterclockwise direction (arrow 18) to stress the returnspring 9. At the same time, the clutch 5 rotates the pinion 4 so thatthe tray 2 moves forwardly and the bottom wall 28 slides over theprojection 8. Thus, the lever 6 is automatically retained in aninoperative position because the bottom wall 2B prevents upward movementof the projection 8 so that the spring 9 continues to store energy andthe shaft 3 can be rotated without any appreciable interference on thepart of the follower l l.

The foremost cassette 22' is now located in the projection position andthe blocking lever 6 remains in the inoperative position duringsuccessive stepwise advances of the tray 2 to place successive cassettesinto the projection position. When the shaft 3 is rotated to move therearmost cassette 22 beyond the projection position,the pusher 2eengages the projection 8 and moves the arm 6b of the blocking lever 6 inthe direction indicated by the arrow 21. The arm 6b then opens theswitch 19 which opens the circuit of the light source and/or the motorin the projector housing 1.

If the user wishes to skip a cassette 22 in the tray 2, the latter ispushed forwardly (arrow 16) by hand whereby the rack 20 rotates thepinion 4 which rotates with reference to the shaft 3. This is madepossible by the provision of the friction clutch 5. This clutch need notoffer a strong resistance to rotation of the pinion 4 with reference tothe shaft 3.

As a rule, a tray whose length equals or approximates the length of thechannel between the guide rails la, lb can store a sufficient number ofcassettes to permit the projection of images of a complete filmedsequence. This is desirable because a tray which is as long as thechannel contributes to the eye-pleasing appearance of the projector.However, if it is desired to project the images of films which arestored in a very large number of cassettes 22, such cassettes arestacked in the longer tray 2' which is inserted and advanced in the sameway as the tray 2. If the cassettes 22 in the longer tray 2' areproperly stacked, the foremost cassette will be one step away fromprojection position when the front end face of the bottom wall of thelonger tray 2 reaches the projection 8 of the blocking lever 6. I

In order to withdraw the tray 2 from the projector, the user presses onthe projection 10 of the arm 6a (arrow this causes the projection 8 tomove to a level below the lowermost portion of the pusher 2e so that thetray 2 can be readily withdrawn by moving in the direction indicated bythe arrow 16. Withdrawal of the tray 2 in a direction counter to thatindicated by the arrow 16 is normally prevented by the pawl 13 whichcooperates with the teeth of the serrated portion 2d. As mentionedabove, the pawl 13 can be provided with a handle which enables theoperator to disengage the pallet 1312 from the serrated portion 2d sothat the tray 2 is then free to move out of the channel by advancing inthe direction counter to that indicated by the arrow 16.

An important advantage of the blocking lever 6 is that the projection 8of its arm can arrest in a starting position short, medium long orlongest trays. This insures that the foremost cassette of the tray whichis inserted into the channel between the guide rails la, lb invariablyassumes its projection position in response to rotation of the shaft 3after the bottom wall of the inserted tray reaches the projection 8. Itis clear that the tray 2 or 2' need not be completely filled withcassettes or that the cassettes which are stored in the tray 2 or 2' cancontain convoluted film with pictures of two or more sequences.

The trays 2, 2' are preferably designed to accommodate commerciallyavailable cassettes for motion picture film.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featureswhich fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic andspecific aspects of our contribution to the art and, therefore, suchadaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

What is claimed as new and desire to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support defining an elongated path; anelongated magazine for a stack of cassettes, said magazine beinginsertable into and being movable along said path in a predetermineddirection toward and beyond a starting position; a transportingmechanism for said magazine, said mechanism being mounted in saidsupport and being operable to advance the magazine beyond said startingposition; and blocking means movably mounted in said support andnormally extending into a predetermined portion of said path to arrestthe magazine against further move ment beyond said starting position,said transporting mechanism comprising displacing means arranged to movesaid blocking means away from said predetermined portion of said path inresponse to operation of said mechanism in the starting position of saidmagazine whereby said mechanism is free to move the magazine beyond saidstarting position, said magazine having means for preventing a returnmovement of said blocking means into said predetermined portion of saidpath as long as any portion of said magazine is located in saidpredetermined portion so that said blocking means can re-enter said pathonly when the magazine is moved beyond said predetermined portion.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said blocking meanscomprises a lever which is pivotable with said blocking means comprisesa lever which is pivotable with reference to said support.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising at least oneadditional magazine whose length is different from' the length of saidfirst mentioned magazine, said additional magazine being insertable intosaid path upon withdrawal of said first mentioned magazine.

4. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising arrestingmeans provided on said support for preventing movement of said magazinecounter to said predetermined direction.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said support constitutesthe housing of the projector and comprises two elongated parallel guiderails which define said path.

6. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said magazine comprisespusher means for displacing said blocking means in response to movementof said magazine through a predetermined distance beyond said startingposition, and further comprising electric switch means actuated by saidblocking means in response to displacement of the blocking means by saidpusher means.

7. In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support defining an elongated path; anelongated tray for a stack of cassettes, said tray being insertable intoand being movable along said path in a predetermined direction towardand beyond a starting position and having a longitudinally extendingtoothed rack; a transporting mechanism for said tray, said mechanism'being mounted in said support and being operable to advance the traybeyond said starting position, said mechanism comprising a pinionrotatably mounted in said support and meshing with said rack not laterthan when the tray reaches said starting position; and blocking meansmovably mounted in said support and normally extending into said path toarrest the tray against further movement beyond said starting position,said transporting mechanism further comprising displacing means arrangedto move said blocking means away from said path in response to operationof said mechanism in the starting position of said tray whereby saidmechanism is free to move the tray beyond said starting position.

8. A combination as defined in claim 7, wherein said transportingmechanism further comprises a shaft rotatable in a preselected directionand a friction clutch for rotating said pinion in response to rotationof said shaft when the resistance offered by said pinion to rotation isbelow a predetermined value.

9. In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support defining an elongated path; anelongated magazine for a stack of cassettes, said magazine beinginsertable into and being movable along said path in a predetermineddirection toward and beyond a starting position and having a toothedportion; a transporting mechanism for said magazine, said mechanismbeing mounted in said support and being operable to advance the magazinebeyond said starting position; blocking means movably mounted in saidsupport and normally extending into said path to arrest the magazineagainst further movement beyond said starting position, saidtransporting mechanism comprising displacing means arranged to move saidblocking means away from said path in response to operation of saidmechanism in the starting position of said magazine whereby saidmechanism is free to move the magazine beyond said starting position;and arresting means provided on' said support for preventing a movementof said magazine counter to said predetermined direction, said arrestingmeans comprising a pawl which is biased against said toothed portion ofsaid magazine.

10. In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support definstack of cassettes, said magazinebeing insertable into and being movable along said path in apredetermined direction toward and beyond a starting position; atransporting mechanism for said magazine, said mechanism being mountedin said support and being operable to advance the magazine beyond saidstarting position; and blocking means movably mounted in said supportand normally extending into said path to arrest the magazine againstfurther movement beyond said starting position, said transportingmechanism comprising displacing means arranged to move said blockingmeans away from said path in response to operation of said mechanism inthe starting position of said magazine whereby said mechanism is free tomove the magazine beyond said starting position, said blocking meanscomprising a portion which is accessible to and movable by the operatorto thereby move said blocking means away from said path at the will ofthe operator.

1. In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support defining an elongated path; anelongated magazine for a stack of cassettes, said magazine beinginsertable into and being movable along said path in a predetermineddirection toward and beyond a starting position; a transportingmechanism for said magazine, said mechanism being mounted in saidsupport and being operable to advance the magazine beyond said startingposition; and blocking means movably mounted in said support andnormally extending into a predetermined portion of said path to arrestthe magazine against further movement beyond said starting position,said transporting mechanism comprising displacing means arranged to movesaid blocking means away from said predetermined portion of said path inresponse to operation of said mechanism in the starting position of saidmagazine whereby said mechanism is free to move the magazine beyond saidstarting position, said magazine having means for preventing a returnmovement of said blocking means into said predetermined portion of saidpath as long as any portion of said magazine is located in saidpredetermined portion so that said blocking means can re-enter said pathonly when the magazine is moved beyond said predetermined portion.
 2. Acombination as defined in claim 1, wherein said blocking means comprisesa lever which is pivotable with said blocking means comprises a leverwhich is pivotable with reference to said support.
 3. A combination asdefined in claim 1, further comprising at least one additional magazinewhose length is different from the length of said first mentionedmagazine, said additional magazine being insertable into said path uponwithdrawal of said first mentioned magazine.
 4. A combination as definedin claim 1, further comprising arresting means provided on said supportfor preventing movement of said magazine counter to said predetermineddirection.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said supportconstitutes the housing of the projector and comprises two elongatedparallel guide rails which define said path.
 6. A combination as definedin claim 1, wherein said magazine comprises pusher means for displacingsaid blocking means in response to mOvement of said magazine through apredetermined distance beyond said starting position, and furthercomprising electric switch means actuated by said blocking means inresponse to displacement of the blocking means by said pusher means. 7.In a projector for use with cassettes for motion picture film, acombination comprising a support defining an elongated path; anelongated tray for a stack of cassettes, said tray being insertable intoand being movable along said path in a predetermined direction towardand beyond a starting position and having a longitudinally extendingtoothed rack; a transporting mechanism for said tray, said mechanismbeing mounted in said support and being operable to advance the traybeyond said starting position, said mechanism comprising a pinionrotatably mounted in said support and meshing with said rack not laterthan when the tray reaches said starting position; and blocking meansmovably mounted in said support and normally extending into said path toarrest the tray against further movement beyond said starting position,said transporting mechanism further comprising displacing means arrangedto move said blocking means away from said path in response to operationof said mechanism in the starting position of said tray whereby saidmechanism is free to move the tray beyond said starting position.
 8. Acombination as defined in claim 7, wherein said transporting mechanismfurther comprises a shaft rotatable in a preselected direction and afriction clutch for rotating said pinion in response to rotation of saidshaft when the resistance offered by said pinion to rotation is below apredetermined value.
 9. In a projector for use with cassettes for motionpicture film, a combination comprising a support defining an elongatedpath; an elongated magazine for a stack of cassettes, said magazinebeing insertable into and being movable along said path in apredetermined direction toward and beyond a starting position and havinga toothed portion; a transporting mechanism for said magazine, saidmechanism being mounted in said support and being operable to advancethe magazine beyond said starting position; blocking means movablymounted in said support and normally extending into said path to arrestthe magazine against further movement beyond said starting position,said transporting mechanism comprising displacing means arranged to movesaid blocking means away from said path in response to operation of saidmechanism in the starting position of said magazine whereby saidmechanism is free to move the magazine beyond said starting position;and arresting means provided on said support for preventing a movementof said magazine counter to said predetermined direction, said arrestingmeans comprising a pawl which is biased against said toothed portion ofsaid magazine.
 10. In a projector for use with cassettes for motionpicture film, a combination comprising a support defining an elongatedpath; an elongated magazine for a stack of cassettes, said magazinebeing insertable into and being movable along said path in apredetermined direction toward and beyond a starting position; atransporting mechanism for said magazine, said mechanism being mountedin said support and being operable to advance the magazine beyond saidstarting position; and blocking means movably mounted in said supportand normally extending into said path to arrest the magazine againstfurther movement beyond said starting position, said transportingmechanism comprising displacing means arranged to move said blockingmeans away from said path in response to operation of said mechanism inthe starting position of said magazine whereby said mechanism is free tomove the magazine beyond said starting position, said blocking meanscomprising a portion which is accessible to and movable by the operatorto thereby move said blocking means away from said path at the will ofthe operator.